More than two dozen people were killed and dozens more injured as powerful tornadoes and severe storms ripped across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and even parts of the Washington, D.

Additionally, there was no evidence that tornado sirens in the area had been deactivated by the Trump administration's budget cuts — if there was, the people affected by the storm certainly would have noted that fact in interviews.

Recent tornadoes have claimed the lives of at least 28 people. In response, Operation Blessing and Mercy Chefs deployed teams to the hardest-hit area of London, Kentucky.

Authorities in Kentucky expect the death toll of 14 to increase as they continue to search the ravaged areas. Nine of the dead were in Laurel County, where a tornado hit just before midnight on May 16, the sheriff's office said. Many more were injured there.

At least 21 people are dead in Kentucky and Missouri on Saturday after a night of severe weather and tornadoes battered cities large and small across the two states, with officials warning the death toll is likely to rise. At least 14 people have been killed in Kentucky while seven have been reported dead in Missouri, according to state officials.

At least 27 people have died in Kentucky and seven more were killed in Missouri -- five of them in the St. Louis area.

Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs, a disaster relief organization, is providing aid in Kentucky and Missouri following a deadly tornado outbreak in the region.

Portions of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and western Kentucky are under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. on May 20.